Phases of Moon Model Documents

Main Document

This interactive simulation allows students to explore how the relative position of Sun, Earth, and Moon produce the various phases of the moon, as seen from the Earth. The main window displays Earth (at the center) and Moon, with a circle tracing out Moon's orbit. Sun is far to the right in this picture and therefore the right side of Earth and Moon are bright while the left sides are dark. As the simulation runs, a separate "Moon View" window shows progressive photos of the appearance of the Moon as seen from Earth.

Editor's Note: Don't miss the supplementary lesson plan, student guide, and homework problems. The author has cohesively integrated a hands-on investigation with the simulation. Together, these resources will promote understanding of a process that is often difficult for adolescents to grasp. SEE SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENTS below for links.

This item was created with Easy Java Simulations (EJS), a modeling tool that allows users without formal programming experience to generate computer models and simulations. To run the simulation, simply click the Java Archive file below. To modify or customize the model, See Related Materials for detailed instructions on installing and running the EJS Modeling and Authoring Tool.

Supplemental Documents (7)

A customizable Moon Phases Model that allows teachers to set the display parameters. The customized simulation is automatically saved with associated curricular in a new jar file that can be redistributed.

EJS Phases of Moon Model: Student Version is a simulation for college students. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive and has the exploration pdf built-in. Double clicking the ejs_MoonPhasesStudent.jar file will run the program if Java is installed.

EJS Phases of Moon Model: Middle School Version is a simulation for middle school and high school students. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive and has the exploration/lesson plan pdf built-in. Double clicking the ejs_MoonPhasesMiddleSchoolStudent.jar file will run the program if Java is installed.

This simulation helps provide context for the answers to the moon phase exploration assignments. The simulation adds a local time grid as well as showing the current view of the Moon an observer would see if it is above the observer's horizon.

Source Code for the Moon Phases Model for Teachers. The source code archive contains an XML representation of the EJS model. Unzip this archive in your EJS Workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs.